Sensitivity training, no dock of pay for Cambridge councillor

Cambridge Councillor Adam Cooper is not facing a dock in pay after the Integrity Commissioner found he had violated the city’s code of conduct by posting a meme back in January that was labelled as transphobic.

The 28-page report had recommended that Cooper have his pay suspended for 10 days, on the lower end of the scale, and be formally reprimanded by the Cambridge City Council.

When it came to a vote on docking that pay, council was split down the middle with a 4-4 vote, meaning the motion did not pass.

Instead, Councillor Mike Devine suggested Cooper be required to undergo sensitivity training within the next three months.

He noted that particular training has helped him personally in the past, and putting a small fine, by way of docking pay, on the problem won’t lead to change.

“What we need to do is change the attitude and the thought process. When I went through my ‘sensitivity training’, I actually learned a lot,” Devine said.

That motion had council’s support with a 6-2 vote, and also included an official formal reprimanding of Cooper’s social media post.

Before any voting happened, Councillor Cooper had the opportunity to speak to council.

In a 14-minute address, Cooper became emotional when defending his actions, adding that posting the meme was “probably not the greatest moment.”

He noted, however, that the past year has been very difficult for him and his family.

“This has been an unnecessary witch hunt. Nothing more than a witch hunt by playground bullies who found an audience on social media, an audience to which they could portray themselves as some kind of social heroes,” said Cooper.

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“That mob that came after me holds no moral superiority to be standing on any sort of soap box; to be preaching to me or anybody else. I will not take lessons in moral decency from the hateful mob that came after me and continues to do so.”

A group of residents applauded Cooper at the end of his comments.

“I love every single one of you here, and I thank you all for being here. You’re here because you’re passionate and you care, as do I. Peace and love to you all, thank you.”

This was the first time in nearly a month that the council gallery had been open to members of the public, after security concerns led to virtual-only meetings for several weeks.

Meantime, the decision from council does not require any apology to be made.

The Integrity Commissioner noted any required apology would not come across as genuine.